Nov. 24, 2009
Stephanie Schierholz
Headquarters, Washington
202-358-4997
stephanie.schierholz@nasa.gov
Christopher McGee
Stennis Space Center, Mississippi
228-688-3249
christopher.mcgee@nasa.gov
Vincent Creel
City of Biloxi, Miss.
228-435-6368
vcreel@biloxi.ms.us
MEDIA ADVISORY: M09-223
NASA HONORS BILOXI'S APOLLO ASTRONAUT FRED HAISE WITH MOON ROCK
WASHINGTON -- NASA Administrator Charles Bolden will present astronaut
Fred Haise, Jr., with NASA's Ambassador of Exploration Award during a
ceremony on Wednesday, Dec. 2, at the Gorenflo Elementary School in
Biloxi, Miss. Haise will present the award, consisting of a moon rock
encased in Lucite for display, to Paul Tisdale, superintendent of the
Biloxi Public School System, and Tina Thompson, the school's
principal. Haise attended Gorenflo.
NASA is giving the Ambassador of Exploration Award to the first
generation of explorers in the Mercury, Gemini and Apollo space
programs for realizing America's goal of going to the moon. The moon
rock is part of the 842 pounds of lunar samples collected during six
Apollo expeditions from 1969 to 1972.
Haise was the lunar module pilot on Apollo 13 in 1970 and has logged
142 hours and 54 minutes in space. Apollo 13 was scheduled for a
10-day lunar mission, but the flight plan was modified because of a
failure of the service module's cryogenic oxygen system. Haise and
fellow crew members, James A. Lovell and John L. Swigert, working
closely with NASA ground controllers in Houston, converted their
lunar module Aquarius into an effective lifeboat. Their emergency
activation and operation of lunar module systems conserved enough
electrical power and water to assure their safety and survival in
space and for their return to Earth.
Haise also was the backup lunar module pilot for the Apollo 8 and 11
missions, and backup spacecraft commander for the Apollo 16 mission.
He was commander of one of two crews that piloted critical approach
and landing test flights during the development of the space shuttle.
Haise was born in Biloxi, and received his bachelor's degree in
aeronautical engineering from the University of Oklahoma in 1959. For
more biographical information about Haise, visit:
http://www11.jsc.nasa.gov/Bios/htmlbios/haise-fw.html
NASA's Digital Learning Network, which allows students and teachers to
connect with NASA through videoconferences and webcasts, will
broadcast the event online Dec. 2 from 1:15 to 2:15 p.m. EST at:
http://dln.nasa.gov/dln/content/webcast
Beginning Dec. 2, NASA Television will air a video file with
highlights from Haise's mission. For NASA TV downlink, schedule and
streaming video information, visit:
http://www.nasa.gov/ntv
For information about and pictures of the NASA Ambassador of
Exploration Award, visit:
http://www.nasa.gov/multimedia/imagegallery/AofEphotos.html
To learn more about Biloxi schools, visit:
http://www.biloxischools.net
For more information about NASA and agency programs, visit:
http://www.nasa.gov
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